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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28954419">Miracle of Science</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaseDeltaZer0/pseuds/BaseDeltaZer0'>BaseDeltaZer0</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha | Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Deep Immersion Worldbuilding, Future Fic, Greater Than Average Sci-Fi Content, Immortal Cyborg Paradise (Paradise not Guaranteed), Magical Pregnancy, Other, Suicide (sorta), Very Post-Strikers, temporary major character death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 05:40:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28954419</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaseDeltaZer0/pseuds/BaseDeltaZer0</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Nearly three hundred years after the Transfiguration revolutionized humankind, a routine mission to intercept 'joyriders' on Felikia goes horribly wrong, and the legendary Nanoha is shot down.  Soon, it becomes clear there is much more to this incident than a simple joyride, and her allies old and new find themselves staring down a conspiracy that threatens to shatter this new world.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prologue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The air hit Rose like a fist, sending her tumbling out of the elevator carriage.<br/>
She smiled, her spin slowing as she accelerated through the air, and spread her wings - little strips of nylon, just enough to steer, slowly recovering into a controlled glide.  A few dozen meters to her right, her sister likewise stabilized, a few moments later...<br/>
[Hah, damnit, always a bit quicker.] Snow transmitted.  [I'll getcha next time, Rose]<br/>
[Yeah, right.] Rose transmitted, and quickly nodded to the tower.  [Race ya!]</p><p>With that, Rose veered off towards the forest of light, Snow following somewhere - no, she wasn't behind, she was gaining, coming out beneath her and sharply circling one of the smaller ribbons.  Rose gritted her teeth and pressed her arms to her sides, diving in, gaining speed, before quickly leveling out, coming fast toward the same ribbon - a sliver of light at first, but growing to fill her vision.  At the last moment, she pulled up, her trajectory quickly taking her up the ribbon, just another carriage as she flew close enough to touch it, close enough to hear the hum of a barrier-strip long and powerful enough to envelop the world, her flight slowing, and then...<br/>
She turned head over heels, and dove once more.<br/>
[Nice!] Snow transmitted [But you'll never win that way!]<br/>
Rose smirked, watching Snow weave a reckless figure-eight between a pair of ribbons a hundred meters below.  It wasn't about winning (though she would).  It wasn't, like Safety said, about protesting authority (though they were annoying), it wasn't about flying, even (anyone could fly).  Rose dove after her, making a wide circle around the twin cords, then at the last moment, lining up into a dive... a car rose up along the twin ribbons below, deceptively fast, but her timing would take her -<br/>
Ten tons of what the fuck ever thundered past what had to be less than a meter behind her.  A fraction of a second later, and pieces of her would be on the way to orbit.<br/>
That was what this was all about - recklessness.  The closet anyone could get to danger these days, anyways.  She banked sharply, back through the ribbon-gate, and dove after Snow, who was now starting to get a head start.</p><p>[Damn, you're that determined to beat me?] Rose asked.<br/>
[Nah, let's just get to the Tower.] Snow replied. [That's where the real fun is.]<br/>
[Yeah, you can give some poor janitor a fright when you crash through the wall.] Rose replied.<br/>
So they fell, lazily drifting through the knot of luminous strings, for kilometers, Rose gaining on her sister - slightly, resisting the temptation to cheat.  She'd never been great at the magical kind of flying, anyways.  Below was the tower - the vast structure where the Cord rooted into the earth, and it was even deadlier than the Cord itself.</p><p>Snow darted into the cauldron, circling the lip of where the tower met the main Cord before climbing back over the ring. Rose couldn't take that lying down - she following, aiming for a point just before the edge - the point was to skim between the tower's inner wall and the cord, then have time to pull up and come back over... but there was an opening at the bottom too.  Of course, it was... small, and would require even more precise timing, but...<br/>
Too late, doing it.  Rose whipped into the cauldron, unperturbed as the prevailing winds suddenly stilled, and banked left, circling once, twice, then - there, down below, the opening, she'd need to line up just right and -<br/>
- She spread her wings to the full extent, the bottom of the cauldron coming quickly, then the gap quicker still, and in an instant, she was through.  Things were silent for a second, and then she met Snow, now above her, circling in the opposite direction.<br/>
[Did you just... black abyss, you gonna lecture me about janitors?] Snow exclaimed upon seeing her.<br/>
Rose sent her the video recording.  [Damn right I did, check it out.]<br/>
[Damn, how wide is that gap, anyways?  Can't be more than a meter.]</p><p>A moment's thought brough up the relevant page on Riderz.  [Sixty-Three Centimeters]<br/>
[Wow.  Y'know the fine for making a mess in the cauldron'll be crazy, right?]<br/>
[Good thing I didn't crash, then!] Rose exclaimed.<br/>
[Yeah...] Snow replied. [See that buttress on the North Side?]<br/>
It was hard to miss, there were only four of them, one in each direction, connecting the main tower to the surrounding secondary towers.  They were fun.  ['Course] Rose replied.<br/>
[Go under it, hammerhead along the top, then meet up by the secondary.] Snow replied  [Closest wins!]<br/>
Rose sighed.  Snow was pushing herself to exceed her, and it'd probably kill her.  Sounds like fun.  [Alright.]</p><p>[Too late, already doing it.]  Snow sent back, and it was Rose's turn to be tense for a moment, as Snow came around the north first.  [Done!] Came the transmission, and a brief video of a pretty neat transition.  Pretty neat, but she could do better.  Of course, she was quite a bit lower now, so that'd complicate things.<br/>
Rose flew wide, circling out to take a straight shot at the buttress, and leaned into a dive, gathering speed.  At the last moment - she turned her speed into a climb, slowing, slowing, but passing neatly through the triangle of the joint, before she turned over in air - and over, further than she'd hoped, veering into a steep dive to recover below the buttress.<br/>
[Aw, man, close though.] Snow transmitted.<br/>
[Yeah, yeah...] Rose replied, adjusting course to meet up with Snow.  [Still, the only thing that counted was the distance, right?]<br/>
[You have to actually do it to count, Rose Sesto-Calani] Snow replied.<br/>
[Hey, don't 'Sesto' me.] Rose replied.  [But you're right, that's yours.]<br/>
[Ha!]<br/>
[So that's one.] Rose transmitted, smiling.  For a moment, things were a nice kind of calm, and it wasn't like things wouldn't get -</p><p>[Think we've got Sec, 7 o'clock] Snow transmitted.<br/>
Ah, well, that could spoil their fun.  Rose glanced to her left, and saw a light red - pink, rather -aerobarrier trail closing fast on an intercept course.<br/>
[Attention!] A woman's soft voice called out. [This is the Safety Division, you are... gliding... in a restricted airspace, please come to a steady descent at heading 160 so you may recovered.]<br/>
[Fuck that!] Snow transmitted, and veered straight for the secondary tower.  Rose dove instead, heading for an antenna cluster.  If they were shooting, it'd be stupid, but Safety wouldn't, so maybe they wouldn't dare get to close.  <br/>
As Snow sped for a terminal collision with the tower, a network of pink strings sprang into existence in front of her, gently slowing her to a halt and entangling her in the same spell.  A nice trick - Safety Girl's IS, perhaps?</p><p>[Come on.  This is silly.] Safety girl transmitted.  It might be, but Snow's 'sacrifice' had given Rose a few moments, which she took to get tight against the buildings, threading through the gap between two secondary towers, where Safety Girl...<br/>
... followed her easily, pulling up alongside.  She looked somewhat familiar, wearing the red-and-white suit of Safety Division, fairly young, for all that mattered, with long auburn hair tied in a ponytail on one side.  Maybe they'd met in a past life.  Still, Rose had another trick.  She channeled mana into her fists, concentrating through specialized pathways, and with a rude gesture released it into the air, veering away as she did.<br/>
From Rose's perspective, there was swiftly glowing tinge of red a few shades darker than Safety Girl's own magic, from anyone else's perspective it was... much worse.  Safety girl flinched, and turned away.<br/>
Snow had the right idea, basically, she just needed time.  Unfortunately, short of going loud and picking a fight in the midst of falling to her death, Rose couldn't help her, but Snow could probably free herself.  And the Horizon Star would buy time.  Rose picked an aesthetic-looking patch of roof, and took aim...</p><p>But safety girl was on her again, having completed a tight circle that end with her flying 'slowly' - a bit more than terminal velocity - after Rose.<br/>
[You're putting other people in danger - I'm sure you have someone you care about -]<br/>
Rose gritted her teeth and jammed the channel, Snow counted, but then again they were partners in self-victimization.  Rose looked back as the girl came alongside, and pondered her chances of actually making it to impact.  Four seconds.    Not good.  The girl began to cast, it hadn't taken half that long to stop Snow.</p><p>And light filled the sky - a flash bright as the sun speared Safety Girl, sending her tumbling - an instant later, she recovered, a glittering sphere of magic surrounding her, before another beam of burning light slammed into her, then another, then another, then another from every direction, blasting out a thunderous cacophony that tossed Rose aside, turning her dive into a disorganized tumble.<br/>
As the roof grew swiftly closer, Rose had just enough presence of mind to feel a strange sense of irony.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ryl tried not to fidget, and almost succeeded. It was a bright, clear day at Camp Valerie, but it still didn’t feel right. She and her partner waited impatiently at the taxi dock - apart from the rest of their block. It had been only a few minutes they’d got the news of sudden reassignment, and that a car would be coming to pick them up - which would be strange enough, if they weren’t cadets. It was an abberation - wrong, somehow. That feeling didn’t go away when Ryl learned that they unit they were being transferred to was a Special Force Mobile Section, lead by <span>her</span>.</p>
<p>The legendary Nanoha, the White Devil, the Ace of Aces, the Fifteenth Number, lynchpin of the Transfiguration, who came from nothing to become a legend, who had <span>made </span>legends out of ordinary people. She wondered if this was how Quattrodieci felt when <span>she </span>was transferred to the unit that would, through a long, convoluted path, lead her to <span>also </span>be a hero of the Transfiguration.</p>
<p>No, that feeling, didn’t go away. It honestly just intensified, though also accompanied by a faint sense of awe. Ryl tried not to show it.</p>
<p>She showed it.</p>
<p>“Relax.” May said.</p>
<p>“I’m trying.” Ryl replied. It wasn’t working.</p>
<p>“That’s the problem.” May continued. She was good at relaxing, maybe too good. “They know what they’re doing.”</p>
<p>“I’m… sure.” Ryl said. “But I mean, we haven’t even finished our training.”</p>
<p>“Well, we’ve clearly done enough. You heard what the Cadet Leader said. They specifically asked for cadets.”</p>
<p>“But <span>why?”</span></p>
<p>“This hero of yours is an instructor, right?”</p>
<p>“I think she still is, but…” Ryl replied.</p>
<p>“Well, we’ll find out soon. I think that’s the car.”</p>
<p>Ryl thought she was right. A staff car slowly slid up to the parking spot, and came to a halt.</p>
<p>“See? We can ask if you really want.” May said, reaching out to the door handle - it slid open at her touch.</p>
<p>Ryl shook her head, but the door wouldn’t open if it didn’t recognize them. She followed her partner into the car - spacious and lavishly appointed, with leather seats and all. A pair of women waited inside, greeting them as they entered. Neither was Nanoha. Ryl was simultaneously relieved and disappointed.</p>
<p>“Welcome to the team. Mariel April Sedicesimo-Kuragana, Commander Nanoha’s personal assistant and section cybermechanic.” Her AVS was on, but it was a nice gesture. She was quite short, with short, vaguely round pale green hair, and glasses, no doubt for style.</p>
<p>May quickly collapsed into the far side of the rear bench. “Sedicesimo-Kuragana, me too. Nice.”</p>
<p>“Amaryllis August Ottavo-Chandri” Ryl gave her designation as she set herself down. As much as she didn’t like her proper given name, they weren’t friends, and ‘Ryl’ wasn’t a real name.</p>
<p>“Since we’re doing introductions.” The other woman said gruffly. “Union January Nono-Tullis.” She was starting to show signs of age - possibly 70s or 80s, with black hair braided into… a bun? Something fancy, anyways.</p>
<p>“Great, glad to meet you two.” Mariel said as the car rolled away from the platform.</p>
<p>“Oh, the rest is Sincerity May.” May interrupted, belatedly.</p>
<p>“Right, thanks. Hopefully we can get things rolling quickly, since we’ve been advised to make this case our highest priority.”</p>
<p>“Case?” Ryl asked - they hadn’t been given any real details. She wondered where Nanoha was - she supposed it was inevitable she wouldn’t greet them personally, but… it would’ve been nice.</p>
<p>“Right. We’re here to solve a murder.”</p>
<p>“A murder?” May asked, quizzically. “That doesn’t sound hard.” She had a point. Murder, even if they couldn’t identify the culprit straight away, wasn’t something you needed the Special Force for.</p>
<p>“Well, I’m sure you’ll have no trouble, then.” Union interjected.</p>
<p>“Okay, anyways.” Ryl interrupted before things could escalate. “Whose murder?”</p>
<p>A monitor flashed up beside Mariel, showing a strangely serene-looking violet-eyed young woman with auburn hair pulled to one side of her head. Nanoha. March Secondo-Eurasia to be politically correct, Takamachi to be technically correct.</p>
<p>“Mine.” She said.</p>
<p>There was silence, for a moment. May looked at Ryl, then at the monitor, then at Mariel, then back at Ryl, who, admittedly, was in a similar position. Union scoffed.</p>
<p>“It’s true.” Nanoha continued. “Sorry I couldn’t greet you in person, so to speak, but…” The figure on the monitor held up her hands in conciliation, and Ryl’s heart wound down as that disappointment sunk in.</p>
<p>“You recruited us to investigate… your own murder?” May asked, as Ryl’s disappointment was replaced by bewilderment. It was... Definitely not the kind of thing one encountered every day. And who could kill Nanoha anyways? And what could <span>they </span>do against such a person.</p>
<p>“Not just you. Some of the team I was with, a few friends of mine.”</p>
<p>“We want to keep this somewhat quiet.” Mariel said. “They know we know, but…”</p>
<p>“They don’t need to know how much we know.” Nanoha finished. “We’ll support you as much as we can, but… I’m stuck in here, and as for the rest…”</p>
<p>“I’m a pretty awful fighter, so the other two need to protect me.” Mariel said.</p>
<p>Ryl took a deep breath to calm herself and ran through the implications. “So. You rebounded to Doctor Mariel, and you think they might attack again.”</p>
<p>“Essentially.” Nanoha replied. Kinda wish it went to my home CYPHER network, but…”</p>
<p>“That’d just put <span>them</span> at risk.” Mariel said, with the tone of a conversation that had happened before. “I’m fine.”</p>
<p>“Then… fifty weeks until you can fight, thirty for the others?” Ryl replied. That was pretty much expected turnaround for CYPHER.</p>
<p>“Thirty-five, thirty eight weeks for me.” Nanoha replied. “I fought when I was <span>actually </span>nine, so it’s no problem for me.”</p>
<p>“The accelerated development amplifies stresses on the body, so…” Mariel countered.</p>
<p>“I can handle it. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”</p>
<p>“<span>Hopefully</span>.” Mariel replied. “I’m not carrying you twice in a row, Commander.”</p>
<p>“I can, if necessary.” Ryl said before she thought better of it.</p>
<p>“Thank you.” Nanoha replied with what seemed to be practiced neutrality - or just an avatar programmed that way. “Like I said. Hopefully it won’t come to that.”</p>
<p>There was an awkward silence in which Ryl failed to avoid blushing. Fortunately, after a moment, Nanoha broke the silence. “Can we continue this conversation in DI?”</p>
<p>“Sure.” May answered.</p>
<p>“Of course.” Ryl answered herself, and glanced behind her for an uplink, quickly found it, and maneuvered the cable link until the magnets snapped it to her neck link. After a moment’s concentration, her vision flashed an intro screen, and then she found herself… back in the car. Or rather, a larger, fancier version of it, with four sides and nearly a dozen people, most notably Nanoha sitting there in… well, it wasn’t real at all, but apparently full-bodied non-holographic form. After a few moments, a… picture frame to Ryl’s left flashed and transformed into May.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ryl noticed two other picture frames - one in the bench to Ryl’s left, the other in the right, and recognized who they depicted immediately - Cinque and Quattrodieci. They… probably weren’t there just for symbolic value.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright, we don’t need to go into detailed introductions” Nanoha gestured at her own intangibly hovering nameplate “So let’s get everyone on the same page before we start making plans.”</p>
<p>“The incident occurred at 2344 Local September 2nd, at the Saint Valerie orbital cord.” An orange-haired ‘Teana’ in Security red and black explained. “Initial callout was from Safety, responding to suspect ‘joyriders’, to which Nanoha responded - alone, not expecting hostility.”</p>
<p>“My mistake.” Nanoha replied.</p>
<p>“CYPHER Coverth Many Sins.” Teana answered. Her tone was familiar, and Ryl was pretty sure she had heard the name - probably one of the ‘friends of mine’. “Anyways, you want to explain what happened next, or should I?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I think you know as much as I do.” Nanoha said. The scene faded away, and the view changed, suddenly leaving them in the skies near the Cord. Straight ahead, everything was clear, slightly faded to indicate a 3d-recorder reconstruction everywhere else. Ryl moved her viewpoint back, and saw a simple ghostly approximation of, presumably, Nanoha in mid-flight. Time skipped forward as she moved to intercept a pair of figures flying at very slow speeds - no, not flying, gliding on air currents.</p>
<p>“I received the call of people flying around Valerie Cord, and moved to… recover them.”</p>
<p>“Who are they?” May’s voice asked from nowhere in particular.</p>
<p>“Rose December Sesto-Calani, and Snow December Sesto-Calani.” Teana answered. “Both veteran joyriders, and given they were buzzing a Cord with nary a ‘Jacket in sight, we assume that’s what they were doing here.”</p>
<p>Time began to advance normally. One of the two gliders dove towards the tower, for… some reason. Nanoha called out a spell - Holding Net - and almost instantly, she was stopped and wrapped in intricate floating bindings. Maybe it wasn’t a Starlight Breaker, but it was still a unsurprisingly impressive display of magic.</p>
<p>“One of them - Snow, we’re pretty sure - dove for the tower in an effort to… initiate a rebound.” Nanoha explained. “I followed the second. They tried to evade but…” The video continued, as Nanoha pursued, chasing tightly after the second joyrider, tried to convince her to surrender, and in response, the image exploded into a cloud of static.</p>
<p>“That.” Teana said. “Was not the incident. Rose’s IS, Horizon Star. Multispectral jamming flare. It forced Nanoha to diverge.”</p>
<p>The image ‘proceeded’, the static fading after a few seconds, which revealed that, somehow, Nanoha had not only kept flying but made a neat, slow turn that put Rose right ahead of her.</p>
<p>“When I got my bearings, Rose was right in front of me, and seemed to also be engaged in… self-rebounding. I began to disrupt it, when… you’ll see.”</p>
<p>The video advanced in slow motion as Nanoha began a second casting of Holding Net. Suddenly, a slight burst of static. One of the HUD elements Ryl had paid minimal attention to showed an abrupt decrease in Autoshell strength as a cloud of glowing fog erupted all around. A movement Ryl felt more than saw, and a cartridge-fueled protection spell. Then a second hit. Then a third. A fourth. A fifth. Sixth. Seventh. Eighth, directly to the ‘shell, putting it at 15%, and then…</p>
<p>“CYPHER was activated at this point.” Teana explained simply as the image flickered and distorted, plunging them back into the fake care. “We… did not recover any more coherent data.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We currently have minimal information on the case.” Teana continued. The attack seems to have been a precise attack on Nanoha, rather than on the Cord, as no other damage occurred. We don’t know if it was <span>specifically </span>targeted to Nanoha, rather than any given Safety Officer, but the power of the weaponry indicates that they were prepared for anything. And it’s possible that, whoever the attackers are, they’ll be interested in finishing the job.”</p>
<p>“How would they do that?” A Wolfram June Quinto-Ranath with short-clipped pink hair asked. “We can do serial recoveries, and network saturation is… what’s the network status, anyways.”</p>
<p>“The primary network consists of everyone in the unit - in this conversation, specifically.” Mariel explained. “Secondary networks are your own units, then your personal networks, then the crisis network. In decreasing order of reliability.”</p>
<p>“It’s not zero, anyways.” Union said.</p>
<p>“What’s next in line?” Nanoha asked. “That weapon?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That fits.” A lady by the name of Vice February 4-Alaris said. “There are, of course, a lotta cameras around the Cord. Most didn’t tell us much. But we did get this.”</p>
<p>Back to a recording from the Cord, this time much closer to the ground, showing a seemingly endless field of crates stacked dozens high, plus cranes and sleds</p>
<p>“Look at this.” The image zoomed in on a crate mounted on one of the sleds - as the top of the crate popped open. A trio of crystalline domes rose up, glowing with inner power. A wave of brilliant blue-white light lanced out, the weapon-crate receding into an inset as the view zoomed out to show the beam travelling two kilometers north, and suddenly turning to intercept Nanoha in midair. A second later, the array fired another three shots in a quick ripple, then another five more with only the slightest delay.</p>
<p>“We’re not entirely sure what that was. It’d be impressive for a spell, but it looks non-magical. We’re pretty sure no one else has anything like that in their arsenal, and we have no idea how anyone could get that kind of weaponry.”</p>
<p>The overview faded and the inset reclaimed Ryl’s vision. For a few seconds, nothing happened…</p>
<p>“And then… boom.” The crate, and the weaponry inside it, exploded in a chaotic flare of magic, reducing the whole assembly to a rain of minute fragments. “Dusted.” The last word sounded almost sad…</p>
<p>“Do we know what destroyed it?” The other Safety Officer - an Aurora from Landrel with appoppriately flowing light-blue hair - asked. The answer seemed obvious to Ryl, but maybe it was rhetorical?</p>
<p>“Demolition cartridges built into the container, most likely.” Vice replied. “It was thorough.”</p>
<p>That, coupled with the tinge of regret she expressed… it meant something. Ryl wasn’t sure, but…</p>
<p>“So… they destroyed it themselves?” May commented.</p>
<p>“Because it’s unique.” Ryl surmised. “They had to destroy it, or it’d lead back to them.”</p>
<p>“That’s our expectation.” Teana said, as the virtual environment returned to the car.</p>
<p>“That just leaves our joyriders.” Nanoha said, and images of the two cycled through the center of the group - Rose, tall, black hair braided over her shoulder, and Snow, appropriately pale and cherubic. “We don’t know much about them, I’ve already posted their general information.”</p>
<p>“Creche sisters completed just in time to be sent to work construction in the Southern Expansion on Fedikia…” Teana began. “…for a couple years. After that, things get confusing, and they bounce on and off the official reports, accruing no less than 7 joyriding demerits in less than 20 years.”</p>
<p>“Kids, basically.” Union scoffed.</p>
<p>“With more rebounds than I have.” Teana replied. “That said, no reports of any misconduct <span>except</span> joyriding. Associates are all the same basic story, nothing <span>really</span> sticks out.”</p>
<p>“So uh…” May interjected. “What’s a joyrider?”</p>
<p>“They’re uh… people who intentionally get themselves killed for the thrill of it.” Aurora replied. “Usually doing some nonsense like jumping off a Cord.”</p>
<p>“They die on purpose?” May said, bewildered.</p>
<p>“Why not? CYPHER catches ‘em and makes it some reserve lady’s problem.”</p>
<p>“Usually, they have their own networks.” Teana said. “ It’s a whole community, more or less. That said, it’s a strain on the network, not to mention a waste of time and resources.”</p>
<p>“So… speaking of CYPHER, where are they?” Wolfram asked.</p>
<p>“No idea.” Teana replied, flicking a technical document Ryl vaguely recognized as CYPHER Activation Report. “Activation report is glitched out. No data on where they ended up.”</p>
<p>So, their best witnesses were a couple petty criminals whose whereabouts were unknown. That… didn’t quite add up. A lot of things didn’t add up. If this was what investigative work was like, they <span>really </span>weren’t ready for this. Ryl cut down her concerns to one question. “Are they suspects?”</p>
<p>“Possibly.” Teana replied. “ They don’t seem to be the type to be involved in a plan like this. But they’re one of our best leads.”</p>
<p>“We don’t know if they were targeting Nanoha specifically or just any Safety officer.” Union added.</p>
<p>“They’d have to be tapped into our communications, and that was the second thing I checked.” Mariel said. “It’s unlikely they were targeting Nanoha.”</p>
<p>“But it’s possible.” Union said.</p>
<p>“Technically.” Mariel replied, as if ending a conversation that hadn’t been any more productive before.</p>
<p>“Fortunately, while we don’t have the activation report, we are compiling a rundown of their network.” Teana said. “That’s our best lead.”</p>
<p>“That’s not a great lead.” May commented. Ryl winced.</p>
<p>Teana just sighed. “No.”</p>
<p>“So, we start by investigating the joyriders?” Aurora asked. “Sounds good.”</p>
<p>“That’ll be your responsibility, along with our colleagues from the Academy.” Nanoha explained - meaning Ryl and May. Not only were they not going to get training with Nanoha any time soon, but they were getting dropped right into the deep end.</p>
<p>“Investigate. Not break things.” Union added, glaring directly at Aurora. Wonderful.</p>
<p>“Be careful, too.” Teana said. “If they are involved, they might have something nasty planned.”</p>
<p>“We’ve got a job to do too, rather avoid having to give you girls a ride home.” Vice said.</p>
<p>Be careful. They might be the same people who killed <span>Nanoha </span>in a fraction of a second, and ‘be careful.’ Just what she needed, Ryl thought, a rebound on the first mission of her career.</p>
<p>“Right. We’ll… try to.” Wolfram said, clearly having similar thoughts. It didn’t make sense. Why send them?</p>
<p>“Couldn’t we guard Nanoha, and Union and… Ruby?” Ryl asked, nodding to the quiet redhead sitting next to Nanoha. “… do the investigation?”</p>
<p>“If they did target Nanoha, they probably know us too.” Union said. “They don’t know you.”</p>
<p>“If they were going to drop the hammer on every officer who pokes a joyrider commune, they’d have done it already.” Teana explained. “No one’s going to die. Just don’t go broadcasting what you’re doing.”</p>
<p>Nanoha nodded. “I wouldn’t have agreed to this if it weren’t the best way forward. Nothing is perfectly safe, of course. That’s… the whole reason we’re here. But we can’t let that danger stop us - whoever did this is still out there, and they’re not going to stop unless we do something about it.”</p>
<p>“Of course, sir!” May exclaimed. Naturally. It wasn’t that she was <span>afraid, </span>it was just… so, ah, there was no way to come out of this looking good.</p>
<p>“Understood.” Ryl said.</p>
<p>“I’ll contact the local units, and arrange reinforcements on standby.” Mariel said. “We’ll be back to base in two minutes.”</p>
<p>“Right.” Teana said. “We should be there by… 0900 tomorrow. We can probably get started once we arrive.”</p>
<p>“You’ll be joining us?” Wolfram asked.</p>
<p>“Not quite. We’ll look into the weapon.” Teana replied. “We’ll meet you at headquarters, though. Probably not gonna be solved in a day.”</p>
<p>“Probably not.” Union admitted.</p>
<p>“I’ll keep in touch. Is that all?” Teana asked.</p>
<p>“I think that’s all.” Nanoha said. “Any questions?”</p>
<p>No one objected, and half the meeting shook their heads. “Good. I’ll end the meeting, then.”</p>
<p>With that, the expanded-car flickered and faded to its true proportions, leaving just Mariel and Union sitting across from them. Ryl unfastened her link, and slouched back into her seat. She was still pretty sure they weren’t ready. But… she’d at least try not to embarass herself in front of Nanoha, and figure out who was responsible for this. After all, Nanoha <span>had </span>called on them, maybe they’d end up getting training when they were done, after all.</p>
<p>“We’re nearly at the base.” Mariel explained, toggling on the exterior view-panels, revealing what looked like an industrial backroad, with cranes and the occasional marine-ship visible in the background. “I’ll show you around when we get there.”</p>
<p>“Thank you, sir.” Ryl replied.</p>
<p>“Sadly, I can’t train you in person, given all this.” Nanoha explained over video transmission. “But we may still be able to do VR training, or practice against each other. If it’s not too much trouble for you, Mariel?”</p>
<p>“That’s up to you, from both the CYPHER regulations and that you’re my commander…” Mariel replied. “But no, it shouldn’t be too much trouble.”</p>
<p>“That’s great!” May exclaimed. “Ryl - I mean, Amaryllis was really looking forward to meeting you.”</p>
<p>[May! What are you doing?!] Ryl transmitted back. “I… I appreciate the honor to serve with you. In any capacity.”</p>
<p>[Come on, you were just gonna be uptight over it the whole time.] May sent back. Which, probably fair, but now she was just embarassed.</p>
<p>Nanoha’s avatar giggled, and Mariel repressed a smirk. “I understand.” She said “I’ll try not to disappoint you.”</p>
<p>“I’m not disappointed!” Ryl scrambled. “I’m… it’s…”</p>
<p>“We’re here.” Mariel interrupted, as the car came to a rather abrupt halt. May opened the door, and the scent of ocean water rushed in, mixed with… something else. They waited in the loading bay of a nondescript, elongated structure distinguished from the other dockhouses only by the gold lettered ‘VALENTINE CITY HEADQUARTERS SAFETY DIVISION’ sign out front, and the comparative abundance of people milling around. Slowly, Ryl opened her own door and stood.</p>
<p>“Anyways, I’ve gotta talk to the other team, forensics, that sorta thing.” Nanoha said. “Mariel, you can show them around?”</p>
<p>“Of course.” Mariel said.</p>
<p>“Right. Well, if you guys need me, you know where I am.” Nanoha concluded, her portrait winking out.</p>
<p>Union scoffed. “I’ll get back to work. Have fun with the kids, Mariel.” With that, she quickly turned on her heels and set out for the building.</p>
<p>“Well, that’s…” Mariel said. “Anyways, start with your quarters? Drop off your things first.”</p>
<p>“Didn’t bring much.” May admitted. “But yeah.”</p>
<p>“Sounds good.” Ryl concluded.</p>
<p>“Good, then.” Mariel said, sighing, and sent the car off with a wave of her hand. She smiled tepidly. “So, let’s begin.”</p>
<p>Ryl looked towards the plain-two-story building and nodded. Maybe not impressive, and maybe it was a bit much, maybe this whole thing was a bad omen - but it was a job, and if all she had to do to get in with <span>the </span>Nanoha was defy a little augury… well, that was a good start.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, tried copying as HTML, and while it looks annoying in the editor, it works, I think.  Though the font may be different.</p>
<p>This one... okay, I hoped this explained something, though it's probably still a little unclear.  All will be explained... or implied, anyways.<br/>Comments are welcome!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well then.  I've been out of the game for a while, decided to finally post something.  First fic on AO3, getting used to the format.  </p><p>Conversely, if you have no idea what just happened, that's intentional.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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